India Today music festival to bond with subscribers

India Today is getting ready to organize the third edition of its annual Indian music festival - 'Swarutsav', from October 25. The festival will see a series of concerts by prominent Indian artists. The concert is an endeavor to further strengthen the bond with its subscribers.

Swarutsav, in its third year, was initially started as a part of the part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for The India Today Group in December 2000.The festival features eminent artists like Pandit Jasraj, Shubha Mudgal, Rajan & Sajan Mishra and Wadali Brothers.

Says Mala Sekri, Publisher, Cosmopolitan, who is also the organizer says, "We are committed to bringing the best of everything to our readers be it the best news, excellent quality or better writers. Our event too therefore must carry the stamp of excellence and all our subscribers get special passes to come to the festival each year."

India Today is a magazine catering to the socio - political developments. So, why music is being used as a platform? Says Sekri, "Music transcends all age groups, all communities, all religions. We feel our readers represent the diversity that is India and the music that we create through the festival is also representative of this diversity."

Given its presence across media platforms, India Today Group will also leverage this content. Group's 24-hour news channel, Aaj Tak, will telecast the festival. Says G krishnan, CEO, Aaj Tak, "We will do a live coverage of Inaugural function at 7 pm on 25th October and after that we will continue to provide 2-3 minute packaged stories and graphics outlining the day's performers through out the festival."

The first year the festival was held at Connaught Place and subsequently at India Gate. This year too, the venue remains India Gate. The open-air festival intends to resolve the problems of over ticket pricing or the limited seating capacity. "Most of the festivals in Delhi featuring big artistes have been accessible to the well heeled either through high priced tickets or through passes which are available in limited quantities. Also because of the fact that they are in the auditorium, the capacity is limited," adds Sekri.

Many corporates including Hyundai, Taj Mahal Tea, Delhi Tourism, ITC Hotel and Indian Airlines have bagged this opportunity by associating themselves with the festival.